Summer close ups

I've got this nice camera for taking pictures but unless my quilting output increases most of my pictures seem to be nature. This was not supposed to be a nature blog!

Even though it is still hot and humid, there is proof that the summer is ebbing towards autumn. My pear farmer friends sent me a post card saying that their pears were ready for harvesting so I went and visited their orchard (and bought pears!) Japanese pears are the best!

And the chestnut trees are becoming heavy with chestnut pods. They look like cute, fuzzy little green orbs but they are dangerous to touch! Those stickers are painful. In a month or so we'll be able to break the fallen pods open with our shoes and get to the nuts inside.

Cosmos are beginning to bloom. Though usually pink and purple this is an interesting orange species.

The leek hot houses are open and the farmers are allowing their leeks (nira) to bloom. The farmers will soon be gathering seeds for next year's crop.

Beware!

The cicada are making a racket on the hottest days! The cicada are large flying insects that cling to the trees but they start (well in my eyes) from these crawling insects that creep up from the ground, hang onto a vertical surface and then shed their outer skin in order to fly away. We see these "left-over" skins here and there on the tree trunks and fence posts.

And though this isn't nature, an eel rice box is a customary summer dish. The eel is steamed, grilled and dipped into a sweet soy sauce and is supposed to give the body stamina in these hot energy draining days. Yum! Delicious!

Summer is nearly over!